Vishṇu Pañjara Stotra

Vishṇu Pañjara Stotra, “the hymn of Vishṇu’s protecting cage”

A stotra is a hymn of praise, and a pañjara is a cage or enclosure: something that protects and encloses. The Vishṇu Pañjara Stotra is a kavaca (armour) stotra, a hymn of protection.

It places forms and weapons of Bhagavān Vishṇu in every direction around the one who recites it, so that he is enclosed and guarded on all sides as if by a divine fortress.

Four Purāṇas give it. In the Garuḍa Purāṇa, Bhagavān Vishṇu tells it to Parameśvara Śiva. In the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Mārkaṇḍeya Maharshi reveals it to King Vajra as the supreme kavaca, which Brahmā first composed for Śiva and Bṛhaspati later taught to Indra. In the Vāmana Purāṇa, Pulastya Maharshi tells Nārada Maharshi that Bhagavān Śiva taught it long ago to Kātyāyanī Devī for her protection. When the devas begged her to put on armour as Mahisha’s army engaged her in battle, she put on none: she remembered the Vishṇu Pañjara, and by its power she slew Mahishāsura, Namara, Raktabīja and many other dānavas. The Vāmana Purāṇa praises it as the best of all the protective kavacas in the world, and tells how a tapasvin on a river bank, guarded by it, held a man-eating rākshasa powerless for four months, until the rākshasa turned from his ways. In the Agni Purāṇa, Pushkara gives the stotra as the Vishṇu-pañjara that grants victory: Brahmā taught it long ago to protect Bhagavān Śiva when he set out to destroy Tripura, and Bṛhaspati taught it to Indra when Indra went to slay the asura Bala.

Per Garuḍa Purāṇa

Here the stotra is a protective hymn that Bhagavān Vishṇu (Śrī Hari) told to Parameśvara Śiva. It is found in the Garuḍa Purāṇa, Ācāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 13 (Adhyāya 13). The stotra surrounds the reciter on all eight sides, above in the sky, and below in rasātala (the netherworld), with particular forms and weapons of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

The setting

In the Ācāra Khaṇḍa, Bhagavān Vishṇu tells this stotra to Parameśvara Śiva for the welfare of all who seek protection. He begins: “I shall now reveal the auspicious Vaishṇava Pañjara, the Cage of Vishṇu, O Rudra.”

Bhagavān Vishṇu says that he first gave this pañjara to Bhagavatī Kātyāyanī Devī as a mantra-kavaca (a protective mantra). It woke all her śaktis. With this power she destroyed the unconquerable Mahishāsura, Raktabīja and the hosts of other asura warriors who had defeated the devas.

The stotra

This is the Sanskrit text of the Vishṇu Pañjara Stotra as told in the Garuḍa Purāṇa, Ācāra Khaṇḍa, Adhyāya 13.

pravakshyāmy adunā hy etan vaishṇavaṃ pañjaraṃ śubham
namo namas te Govinda cakraṃ gṛhya Sudarśanam
prācyāṃ rakshasva māṃ Vishṇo tvām ahaṃ śaraṇaṃ gataḥ

“I shall now declare this auspicious Vaishṇava pañjara. Again and again I bow to you, Govinda. Take the Sudarśana cakra and protect me in the east, O Vishṇu. I have come to you for refuge.”

gadāṃ Kaumodakīṃ gṛhya Padmanābha namo ‘stu te
yāmyāṃ rakshasva māṃ Vishṇo tvām ahaṃ śaraṇaṃ gataḥ

“Take the Kaumodakī gadā, O Padmanābha. I bow to you. Protect me in the south, O Vishṇu. I have come to you for refuge.”

halam ādāya Saunandaṃ namas te Purushottama
pratīcyāṃ raksha māṃ Vishṇo tvām ahaṃ śaraṇaṃ gataḥ

“Take the plough Saunanda, O Purushottama. I bow to you. Protect me in the west, O Vishṇu. I have come to you for refuge.”

musalāṃ śātanaṃ gṛhya Puṇḍarīkāksha raksha māṃ
uttarasyāṃ Jagannātha bhavantaṃ śaraṇaṃ gataḥ

“Take the Śātana musala (pestle), O Puṇḍarīkāksha, and protect me. In the north, O Jagannātha, I have come to you for refuge.”

khaḍgam ādāya carmātha astraśastrādikaṃ Hare
namas te raksha rakshoghna aiśānyāṃ śaraṇaṃ gataḥ

“Take the sword, the shield and the other astras and śastras (missile and hand weapons), O Hari. I bow to you. Protect me, O destroyer of rākshasas. In the northeast I have come to you for refuge.”

Pāñcajanyaṃ mahāśaṅkham anughoshyañ ca paṅkajam
pragṛhya raksha māṃ Vishṇo āgneyāṃ Yajñaśūkara

“Take the Pāñcajanya, the great conch, and the lotus. Protect me, O Vishṇu, in the southeast, O Yajñaśūkara.”

Candrasūryaṃ samāgṛhya khaḍgaṃ cāndramasaṃ tathā
nairṛtyāṃ māṃ ca rakshasva divyamūrte Nṛkesarin

“Take the Candra and Sūrya and the sword of the moon as well. Protect me in the southwest, O Nṛkesarin of divine form.”

Vaijayanīṃ sampragṛhya Śrīvatsaṃ kaṇṭha-bhūshaṇam
vāyavyāṃ raksha māṃ deva Hayagrīva namo ‘stu te

“Take the Vaijayanī garland and the Śrīvatsa, the ornament of your neck. Protect me in the northwest, O deva Hayagrīva. I bow to you.”

Vainateya samāruhya tvam antarikshe Janārdana
māṃ raksha svājita sadā namas te ‘stv aparājita

“Mount Vainateya (Garuḍa), O Janārdana, and protect me in the sky. O Svājita, always protect me. I bow to you, O Aparājita.”

Viśālāksha samāruhya raksha māṃ tvaṃ rasātale
Akūpāra namas tubhyaṃ mahāmīna namo ‘stu te

“O Viśālāksha, mount and protect me in rasātala. O Akūpāra, I bow to you. O Mahāmīna, I bow to you.”

karaśīrshādy aṅgulishu satya tvaṃ bāhu-pañjaram
kṛtvā raksha sva māṃ Vishṇu namas te Purushottama

“O Satya, make a bāhu-pañjara (a cage of arms) on the fingers, beginning with the hand and head, and protect me, O Vishṇu. I bow to you, O Purushottama.”

The structure of the pañjara

The stotra builds a complete shield around the reciter. In each direction stands a form of Bhagavān Vishṇu with a particular weapon or sign.

The phalaśruti

Bhagavān Vishṇu says that a person who recites this Vishṇu Pañjara Stotra with bhakti (devotion) and śraddhā (faith) conquers all enemies in every stage of life.

Bhagavatī Kātyāyanī received this stotra from Bhagavān Vishṇu himself. Her śaktis were fully awakened, and she destroyed Mahishāsura, Raktabīja and the many asuras who had threatened the devas.

Per Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa

Here Bhagavān Vishṇu, armed with the cakra (discus), the gadā (mace), the Śārṅga bow and the Nandaka sword, is placed at the four main directions and the four corners around the devotee, forming a divine fortress.

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa (Pūrvārdha, Chapter 195) says that Brahmā first composed this stotra to protect Śiva before the destruction of Tripura, and that Bṛhaspati later taught it to Indra before the battle with Balāsura. The stotra drives away rākshasas, bhūtas, piśācas and kūshmāṇḍas (various kinds of harmful beings). The healing rite that goes with it, the Sattva Bādhā Praśamana, is described in the next chapter.

How the Stotra Was Passed On

The ṛshi Mārkaṇḍeya records two famous people who received the Vishṇu Pañjara:

1. From Brahmā to Śiva: before Mahādeva set out to destroy the three cities (Tripura-saṃhāra), Brahmā composed the Vishṇu Pañjara and taught it to him for his protection.
2. From Bṛhaspati to Indra: when Indra was getting ready to slay the asura Bala, Bṛhaspati taught him this stotra for protection and success.

King Vajra had already learned the fruit of upalepana (smearing and cleaning a temple floor). Wanting to know something even greater, he asked Mārkaṇḍeya about the highest rakshā (protection). Mārkaṇḍeya then revealed the Vishṇu Pañjara as the supreme kavaca.

The Pañjara: Vishṇu Guarding Every Direction

The stotra places Vishṇu with a particular weapon in each direction:

• East (Pūrva): Vishṇu with the cakra, the Sudarśana discus
• South (Dakshiṇa): Vishṇu with the gadā, the mace
• West (Paścima): Vishṇu with Śārṅga, the divine bow
• North (Uttara): Hṛshīkeśa with Nandaka, the sword
• The corners (vikoṇa, the in-between directions): Janārdana stands in each corner

The stotra prays that Hari, standing guard in this way, may destroy all niśācaras (beings who roam by night) and protect the earth.

The Protecting Power of Each Weapon

The stotra calls on each weapon in turn:

Gadā (mace): the mace, with its thousand rays, blazes with fire and scatters rākshasas, bhūtas, piśācas and ḍākinīs.

Śārṅga (bow): the twang (ṭaṅkāra) of Vāsudeva’s Śārṅga bow destroys all paśus (animals that threaten people), pakshīs (birds), people under evil influence, kūshmāṇḍas, pretas and the like.

Nandaka (sword): the pure moonlight that shines from the blade of Hari’s Nandaka sword changes even those who wish the devotee harm. They become gentle, like a snake calmed by Garuḍa.

The Harms It Drives Away

The protective shield of the pañjara drives away or destroys these harmful beings and forces:

• Kūshmāṇḍas (a class of harmful unseen beings)
• Yakshas
• Daityas and niśācaras (beings who roam by night)
• Pretas (restless spirits of the dead)
• Vināyakas (beings who cause obstacles)
• Wild animals: jackals, birds of prey, lions, boars and snakes
• Those who steal citta-vṛtti (clarity of mind) and smṛti (memory)
• Those who drain bala (strength) and ojas (vital radiance)
• Those who steal chāyā (one’s shadow or aura)
• Those who steal lakshaṇa (the marks of good fortune)

Against all of these, the speed of Vishṇu‘s cakra and the sound of Śārṅga‘s bowstring bring complete destruction.

The Closing Prārthanā

The stotra ends with the devotee declaring full reliance on Vishṇu:

“May Janārdana, Hari, be on my left and right, in front and behind, in all the main and in-between directions. One who bows in praṇati (humble salutation) before this praiseworthy Īśāna, this Janārdana of endless valour, will not fall into suffering. Just as Hari is Parabrahman, the form of the whole universe, so this Keśava, higher than the highest, is himself the whole world. By saṃkīrtana (chanting) of this Name beyond thought, the threefold pāpa, of body, mind and speech, shall be dissolved.”

Per Vāmana Purāṇa

In the Vāmana Purāṇa, Pulastya Maharshi tells Nārada Maharshi of the Vishṇu Pañjara three times. In Chapter 18 he gives the stotra itself, which Bhagavān Śiva taught Kātyāyanī Devī. In Chapter 20 he tells how the Devī used it in place of armour in her battle with Mahisha. In Chapter 59 a tapasvin guards himself with a rakshā stotra (a stotra of protection) that the Purāṇa names the Vishṇu-pañjara stotra, and its power holds a rākshasa still.

The setting

Pulastya Maharshi had been telling Nārada the vratas laid down for those who seek wealth, the last of them the year-long ekādaśī vrata (the vow of the eleventh lunar day) to Keśava. When he had finished, he said: “Nārada, I have told you the vratas laid down for those who seek wealth. Now I shall let you hear the all-auspicious Vishṇupañjara stotra.”

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 18

The stotra

The stotra is one continuous prayer of refuge, direction by direction:

• “Govinda, namaskāra to you. I have taken refuge in you.”
• “O Vishṇu, holding the Sudarśana cakra, protect me in the east.”
• “O Padmanābha of immeasurable tejas (radiance), holding the Kaumodakī gadā, protect me in the southern direction.”
• “O Vishṇu, I have taken refuge in you. Namaskāra to you. O Purushottama, namaskāra.”
• “O Vishṇu, holding the plough Saunanda, protect me in the western direction. I have taken refuge in you.”
• “O Puṇḍarīkāksha, with your excellent musala (pestle-club), protect me in the north. O Jagannātha, I have taken refuge in you.”
• “O destroyer of rākshasas, holding the Śārṅga bow and the Nārāyaṇāstra, protect me in the north-east. I have taken refuge in you.”
• “O Vishṇu, O Yajñapurusha, holding the Pāñcajanya śaṅkha and a lotus, protect me in the south-east.”
• “O Prabhu Narasiṃha, Divyamūrti (of divine form), holding the shield called Sūryaśata, ‘a hundred suns’, and the sword Candramasa, protect me in the south-west.”
• “O Prabhu Hayagrīva, wearing the Vaijayantī garland and the Śrīvatsa mark, protect me in the north-west. Namaskāra to you.”
• “O Janārdana, mounted on your divine vāhana Garuḍa, protect me in the antariksha (the sky).”
• “O Ajita, O Aparājita (the unconquered, the never defeated), salutations to you always.”
• “Mounted on Viśālāksha, protect me in pātāla (the worlds below).”
• “O Akūpāra, namaskāra to you. In the form of an eight-armed cage (ashṭabāhu pañjara), protect the hands, the head, the feet, the heels and the other parts of my body. O Purushottama Deva, namaskāra to you.”

“In this way,” Pulastya said, “long ago Bhagavān Śiva told this Vishṇupañjara stotra to Kātyāyanī for her protection. O best of brāhmaṇas, by its power that Mahādevī destroyed Mahishāsura, Namara, Raktabīja and many other dānavas, the thorns of the devas.” At this Nārada asked who Kātyāyanī was, who Mahisha was and whose sons Namara and Raktabīja were, and Pulastya began the account of Mahisha.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 18

The Devī’s kavaca against Mahisha

Mahisha’s envoy Dundubhi brought back the Devī’s condition: whoever would marry a maiden of her family must first conquer that maiden in battle. Then Mahisha set out with his whole daitya army to conquer Kātyāyanī and reached the foot of the Vindhya mountain. Cikshura, the commander of the army, placed the daitya hero Namara at its head, and Namara, with the fourfold forces of elephants, chariots, horse and foot, engaged Durgā Devī in battle from another side.

The devas, headed by Brahmā, were amazed at his onslaught and appealed to the Devī: “Mother, put on armour, Mother!”

Durgā Devī answered the devas: “What need have I of armour? Can these rākshasa insects even stand before me?” Without putting on any armour, she remembered the Vishṇupañjara stotra. By the power of that stotra, Pulastya says, the Mother laid on the ground Mahisha, whom none of the devas could slay, trampled him underfoot and slew him. Chapter 21 tells that battle in full.

Pulastya ends the chapter with the glory of the stotra: “Thus long ago Paramaśiva taught Durgā Devī the Vishṇupañjara kavaca, and by its power she slew all the rākshasas. O best of vipras, among all the protective kavacas in the world, the Vishṇupañjara is praised as the best of all. Who can face in battle one who has established Vishṇu, the bearer of the cakra, in his heart?”

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 20

The tapasvin’s rakshā on the river bank

Chapter 59 is part of the account of the Vishṇu Sārasvata stotra, which Pulastya Maharshi tells Nārada after Nārada asked about the stotras that the great bhakta Prahlāda chanted with śraddhā.

There was once a kshatriya, the lowest of kshatriyas: he did violence to brāhmaṇas, cheated and oppressed others, and was base and cruel by nature, always hating and harming the pitṛ-devatās and the twice-born. When his life ended he was born a fearsome rākshasa, and because of his deeds he became still more an oppressor of people, and a man-eater. For a hundred years he lived that way, eating without mercy any creature his hand could reach, until he grew very old.

One day, on the bank of a river, he saw a great sādhu standing with his arms raised, his senses conquered, immersed in the vow of tapas: a skilled yogī, wholly devoted to Vāsudeva. That tapasvin, absorbed in his tapas, had protected himself with this rakshā stotra:

• “May Vishṇu holding the cakra be to my east.”
• “May Vishṇu holding the gadā stand in the north.”
• “May Vishṇu with the Śārṅga bow in his hand be to my west,”
• “and may Vishṇu holding the khaḍga (sword) be in the north.”
• “May Hṛshīkeśa in the corners between the directions, and Janārdana in the remaining gaps, stand and protect me.”
• “May Varāha-Vishṇu be on the earth, and Nṛsiṃha in the sky.”
• “With its sharp edges, blazing with the radiance of the sun’s disc so that eyes are dazzled, the Sudarśana cakra roams everywhere to destroy pretas, rākshasas and the like.”
• “Pouring forth the light of a thousand rays, like fire, the gadā destroys the powers of rakshas, bhūtas, piśācas and ḍākinīs.”
• “May the bow of Vāsudeva, drawn wide, slay my enemies: animals, birds, men, kūshmāṇḍas and the rest.”
• “As venomous serpents submit on seeing Garuḍa, so may my enemies, scorched in the flames of the edge of the divine Nandaka sword, become quiet.”
• “By the force of the waves of the sound of Vishṇu’s cakra, may yakshas, daityas, kūshmāṇḍas, niśācaras (night-walkers), pretas, vināyakas and the rest, cruel men, jṛmbhakas (the text explains: rākshasas), birds, lions and other beasts, and venomous serpents all lose their power and become quiet.”
• “May the kūshmāṇḍas and the other evil powers that steal memory, the power of thought, strength and manliness, shadows, comforts and enjoyments, and the auspicious marks be destroyed by the sounds of Vishṇu’s cakra.”
• “By the bhajana (devoted worship) of Śrī Hari, the deva of devas, may my buddhi, my manas and my indriyas (understanding, mind and senses) attain full health.”
• “May Janārdana be before me, behind me, to my right and to my left, and in every corner.”
• “One who bows to Vishṇu, who is Ananta and Acyuta, meets no trouble at all.”
• “Śrī Vishṇu is Parabrahma, the furthest limit. He is the form of the world.”
• “Since I have remembered the name Acyuta with faith, may my threefold pāpas be destroyed.”

The Purāṇa names this protection the Vishṇu-pañjara stotra.

The rākshasa leapt at the tapasvin. But by the power of the protections the dvija had made, all his strength and speed failed, and he stood there, just as he was, for four months. When his japa (repetition of the sacred words) was over and his samādhi (deep absorption) had ended, the tapasvin rose and saw the rākshasa standing before him, lustreless, pitiful, wanting to flee and helpless. He felt pity for him and, with consoling words, asked his history.

The rākshasa told everything, hiding nothing: how all his powers had perished the moment he saw the tapasvin. Disgusted with his own base nature, he begged: “Mahātmā, I am a doer of very cruel deeds. I have done many pāpas and killed many. I have made many women widows and sonless, and I have killed many small creatures that knew no pāpa. Grant such a one as me release from pāpa. I am disgusted with this life. Give me some teaching by which I may cross over.”

Amazed, the tapasvin asked how such a good mind had suddenly arisen in one of such dreadful deeds. The rākshasa answered: “As soon as I came near you, the rakshā stotras you had made rendered me powerless and took away all my vigour. Your company brought true nirveda (dispassion) and virakti (turning away from the world) in me. What those rakshā japas are, and how they are to be pronounced, I do not know; yet by mere contact with them nirveda arose in me. You know dharma. Take pity on me and save me in such a way that my pāpas go.”

The tapasvin thought for a long time and said: “It is good that you are disgusted with your base life and ask me to teach you, and the destruction of pāpa is surely a help to a being. But I cannot give upadeśa (teaching) to rākshasas who eat men. For that, go and beg vipras devoted to teaching.” With that counsel the best of ṛshis went away. From that day the rākshasa, bearing even terrible hunger, stopped eating living beings, and killed and ate some animal only once in six meal-times. What followed, when he seized a brahmacārī and Sarasvatī Devī spoke from the boy’s tongue, is the account of the Vishṇu Sārasvata stotra.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 59

The phalaśruti

The Vāmana Purāṇa gives the fruit of the Vishṇu Pañjara in its own words:

• It is all-auspicious. By its power Kātyāyanī Devī destroyed Mahishāsura, Namara, Raktabīja and many other dānavas, the thorns of the devas (Chapter 18).
• Among all the protective kavacas in the world it is praised as the best of all. No one can face in battle one who has established Vishṇu, the bearer of the cakra, in his heart (Chapter 20).
• One who bows to Vishṇu, who is Ananta and Acyuta, meets no trouble at all; and by remembering the name Acyuta with faith, the threefold pāpas are destroyed (Chapter 59).
• Its power took away the strength and speed of the man-eating rākshasa and held him still for four months; and though he knew neither its words nor how to pronounce them, mere contact with it brought nirveda in him (Chapter 59).

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 18, 20, 59

Per Agni Purāṇa

In the Agni Purāṇa, Pushkara gives the Vishṇu-pañjara, “the cage of Vishṇu“, in a chapter of its own.

How it was handed down

Pushkara said: long ago Brahmā taught the Vishṇu-pañjara stotra for the protection of Bhagavān Śiva, when Śiva was setting out to destroy Tripura. Bṛhaspati taught it to Indra when Indra was going to slay the asura Bala. “I will tell its form, which gives victory. Listen.”

The stotra

• “In my east, Vishṇu holding the cakra; in the south, Vishṇu holding the gadā; in the north, Vishṇu holding the shining khaḍga.”
• “In the intermediate directions, Hṛshīkeśa; in the spaces between them, Janārdana; on the earth, Hari in the form of Varāha; in the sky, Narasiṃha: may they stand and protect me.”
• “This pure Sudarśana cakra, with letters at its rim, is whirling. When it goes forth slaying pretas and rākshasas, no one can look towards its rays.”
• “This gadā, like a blazing fire of a thousand flames, destroys rakshas, bhūtas and piśācas.”
• “May the oṃkāra sound of Vāsudeva’s divine bow Śārṅga wholly destroy my enemies: beasts, men, kūshmāṇḍas, pretas and the rest.”
• “May my enemies, bathed in the bright moonlight of the edge of Śrī Mahāvishṇu’s sword, be quelled at once, as serpents are by Garutmān.”
• “May the kūshmāṇḍas, yakshas, rākshasas, pretas, vināyakas, cruel men, cruel birds, lions and the like, and serpents and the like, struck by the sound of Vishṇu’s śaṅkha, become gentle (saumya).”
• “May the kūshmāṇḍas who steal the working of my mind and my memory, who destroy my strength and tejas, who lessen my radiance, who take away my enjoyments and who destroy the auspicious marks, be struck by Vishṇu’s cakra and perish.”
• “By the saṅkīrtana (praise) of Vāsudeva, the Deva of devas, may my mind, buddhi and senses be whole (svāsthya).”
• “Behind me and before me, on my left and right, in the corner directions and everywhere, may Hari Janārdana be.”
• “One who bows to the feet of Janārdana, worthy of worship by all, Acyuta (the one who never falls), of endless form, Parameśvara, is never in sorrow.”
• “As Śrī Hari is the Paramātmā, so Keśava is also the form of the world. By the power of this truth and by the saṅkīrtana of the name of Acyuta, may the three kinds of pāpa be destroyed.”

The phalaśruti

Pushkara calls the Vishṇu-pañjara the stotra that gives victory. The stotra itself promises that one who bows to the feet of Janārdana is never in sorrow, and that by the saṅkīrtana of the name of Acyuta the three kinds of pāpa are destroyed.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 270

Sources

• Garuḍa Purāṇa, Ācāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 13 (Adhyāya 13)
• Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 195
• Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 18, 20, 59
• Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 270